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Monday, April 13, 2009

Homeland Security Thinks You're "Extremists"

The Department of Homeland Security is alarmed by the rise of "right wing extremist" groups following the election of President Obama. If you attend a Tea Party, it's a pretty fair bet you're a suspect.

Here's a quote from this report. If you believe in Federalism, which is to say that the state and local governments should have more power relative to the federal government (or precisely what the Constitution was designed to achieve), you are a "rightwing extremist."

Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.

So, Anonymous, the difference here is that the left-wing report actually cites known organizations and refers to extremist attacks that had _actually happened_ as models for future threats.

The DHS report on the "rightwing extremists," and in particular the types who believe in limited government, refers to no known organization but only to vague possibilities of people who are disaffected.

So, on the left, they point to existing organization that have actually committed terror acts, and on the right, they point to a theoretical concern.

DHS did a crappy hit job on the Right here and they know it. Fox and KSFO aren't politicizing the DHS, they are reporting on a politicized DHS's crappy report.